COVID-19
Edo election: Votes sold for N1,000 to N15,000 – CDD
The Centre for Democracy and Development on Saturday condemned the high incidence of vote-trading recorded in the Edo State governorship election. The organisation said reports from its observers on the field showed that politicians, in an attempt to circumvent the electoral process, used young girls as their contact with the voters for the trading. It lamented that votes were traded for cash gifts from N1,000 to N15,000. The Director of CDD, Idayat Hassan, who said these during a press briefing on the preliminary report on the election said it was quite worrisome that “young girls were used for indirect vote-buying during the election.” She said, “We saw largely vote-buying in the Edo election, the most worrisome trend in this election is the level of sophistication at which politicians e...
France’s economy minister contracts coronavirus
Getty Images French economy minister Bruno Le Maire announced Friday he has tested positive for COVID-19 but said he had no symptoms and was working from home as cases soared again in France. Le Maire, who is responsible for reviving a French economy battered by the months-long pandemic, is not the first member of President Emmanuel Macron’s government to have been diagnosed with the disease. “I tested positive for Covid-19 this evening. I immediately placed myself in isolation at home in line with the health regulations issued by the government,” Le Maire said in a tweet. “I show no symptoms. I will remain in isolation for seven days. I continue to exercise my duties,” the 51-year-old minister said. On March 9, the former culture minister and current minister for external trade, Franck Ri...
2 Chainz, 6lack & Quality Control Team Up To Combat COVID-19 In Atlanta
Source: Vxsionary / @the.vxsionary No matter whats goes down Atlanta stays in good hands largely because of how the city’s rappers always come together to put on for their city. The impact of COVID-19 on minority communities is disproportionately high but Atlanta has been hit particularly hard. Source: Feed Your City / press handout In response, Atlanta natives 2 Chainz, 6lack, and the biggest label in Hip-Hop right now, Quality Control Music Group, are coming together to do the Feed Your City Challenge, a nationwide campaign helps donate resources such as boxes of fresh groceries, PPE items, and voter registration stations to 4,500 local residents via non-contact drive-thru lanes. Also joining the effort are the campaign’s founders in Suave House Records founder Tony Draper and NBA vetera...
Saudi Arabia set to begin Umrah for local pilgrims
The Ministry of Interior announced on Sunday that the “resumption of Umrah will be done gradually depending on COVID-19 conditions.” According to Haramain Sharifain, Umrah will first be resumed for locals (residents of Saudi Arabia) and that too will be allowed in ‘limited numbers’. The source confirmed previous speculations that an application is being developed which will allow for registration of the pilgrim’s intended time and date for the performance of Umrah and also a negative COVID-19 PCR report will be a mandatory requirement. If the intending pilgrim fulfils all conditions then an “Umrah permit” will be issued. Regarding the opening date of Umrah, the source said that the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah will announce the full mechanism in the coming days. It will be recalled that Saud...
Are These DIY Gargling COVID-19 Test Kits the Answer to the Safe Return of Live Events?
As live events continue to bite the curb in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic’s wreckage, legions of pharmaceutical companies continue on a mad dash to the finish line in the race for a vaccine. In the absence of that increasingly mythical panacea, testing, of course, has become the most crucial and polarizing aspect of the painstaking process of reopening regional economies. Austrian start-up testFRWD has now thrown its hat into the ring by creating what they claim is the world’s first DIY gargling COVID-19 test kit. According to the company’s website, their goal is “to safely reopen the tourism and events industry during the pandemic” with the gargling test kits. They point out a number of advantages of the technology, like the fact that gargling e...
IGP: Insecurity challenges can be addressed through intelligence gathering
Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Adamu, on Thursday said the insecurity challenges in the country can be largely addressed through effective intelligence generation by the State Intelligence Bureau, SIB. The Inspector General of Police made this statement in Warri, Delta State, during the occasion of the inauguration ceremony of the State Intelligence Investigation Bureau, SIIB, Office in Warri Area Command, Delta State, by the Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice, CEPEJ. The IGP who was represented by Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Hafiz Inuwa, noted that Intelligence was the bedrock of modern policing globally. Adamu said the completion of the building project was apt in the sense that it will position the Intelligence wing of the Nigerian Police Force t...
Edo election: NSCDC deploys 13,3111 personnel, 60 sniffer dogs
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) says it has deployed no fewer than 13,3111 personnel alongside 60 sniffer dogs to ensure security during the Sept. 19 Edo governorship election. Mr Abdullahi Gana, Commandant General NSCDC, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen by the Corps Public Relations Officer (PRO) Mr Emmanuel Okeh on Wednesday in Abuja. Gana revealed that the deployed personnel were drawn from the Corps Headquarters and its commands in Kogi, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta and Ondo state. He said that the deployed staff would complement personnel of its command in Edo and the zonal command in Benin. He said that the deployment was to ensure that every act of electoral malpractice, violence and other social vices that could affect the smooth conduct of the el...
Dee Snider Slams “Moronic” Anti-Maskers Who Shouted Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”
Dee Snider has blasted a group of anti-maskers who stormed into a Target store in Florida while shouting along to the Twisted Sister classic “We’re Not Gonna Take It”. The band’s legendary frontman dubbed them “selfish assholes”. Snider recently voiced his disdain for Donald Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic while speaking with us over Zoom. “The president’s response [and] the White House response has been to politicize [the pandemic] and to separate us more, and make it about politics, instead of joining together and helping each other,” the singer told us. On Tuesday night, Snider shared a video of a bunch of people who marched into a Target and urged shoppers to take off their masks, all while blasting and shouting along to “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” In his Twitter post, Snider ...
The Big Ten Announces Official and Allegedly Safe October Return
Source: Quinn Harris / Getty College football fans rejoice! According to CBS Sports, on Tuesday (Sept 15), The Big Ten announced that its Council of Presidents and Chancellors has voted to allow the league to play football in fall 2020. The Big Ten also added that they will open its season on the weekend of Oct. 24 with teams playing eight regular-season games over eight weeks along with a Big Ten Championship Game and six additional consolation games. “Our focus with the Task Force over the last six weeks was to ensure the health and safety of our student-athletes,” Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said in a statement. Big Ten also announced, “significant medical protocols” that will be implemented, including daily COVID-19 antigen testing. Student-athletes who test positive for the coro...
How Card Swipes Point to Economic Recovery in South Africa
Sourced from Htxt.Africa Following months of uncertainty, data from FNB shows that businesses are already seeing signs of recovery as card swipes at merchants point of sale devices rebound close to pre-pandemic levels. Purchases recorded on FNB Speedpoint devices show that transactions recorded in August, when the country moved to level 2 of lockdown, recovered to 93.2% compared to February this year. In the same month, merchant transactions recorded across six provinces were already above pre-pandemic levels, with Free State and Gauteng at 90%, followed by the Western Cape at 70%. Signs of recovery were already apparent in July when the country was still on level 3 of lockdown, where activity had recovered to roughly 86% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Gordon Little, CEO of FNB Business,...
Ekiti governor swears-in four permanent secretaries
Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, on Tuesday, sworn-in four permanent secretaries, charging them to uphold the tenets and doctrine of anonymity and neutrality in civil service. The new permanent secretaries are Mr Samson Tayo Olauyi, Mr Olugbenga Odesanmi, Dr Michael Ibikunle and Mrs Titilayo Olayinka. The governor charged them to see their appointment as a call to service and an opportunity to be part of positive history in the state. Fayemi identified the civil service as the engine room, upon which the five pillars of his administration is hinged. He commended the leadership of the state civil service for their doggedness as evident in the collective efforts against the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic. The governor reiterated his commitment to transparency in corporate governance, saying tha...
Oyo governor orders reopening of public, private schools
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has approved the resumption dates for public and private primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in the state. Commissioner for Education, Barrister Olasukanmi Olaleye, made the announcement in a statement on Tuesday. Olaleye in the statement said that schools will now operate morning and afternoon shifting for pupils and students of primary and secondary schools. He noted that it is mandatory for all Schools, public and private to constitute COVID-19 Task Force to be headed by Heads of Schools with two members of staff. He added that the Governor has also approved the re-opening of the state-owned tertiary institutions and private institutions. Olaleye added that regular academic activities of tertiary institutions are to commence from Monday 28th S...
